Naylor to represent Marlins in Futures Game

DETROIT -- A year after being the Marlins' first-round Draft pick, first baseman Josh Naylor will get a taste of playing in a big league park.

The 19-year-old has been selected to represent Miami on the World squad in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Petco Park on July 10. A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Naylor, the Marlins' No. 2 prospect, is playing for Class A Greensboro.

DETROIT -- A year after being the Marlins' first-round Draft pick, first baseman Josh Naylor will get a taste of playing in a big league park.

The 19-year-old has been selected to represent Miami on the World squad in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Petco Park on July 10. A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Naylor, the Marlins' No. 2 prospect, is playing for Class A Greensboro.

The Futures Game begins the All-Star festivities in San Diego, with the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard being played on July 12.

"We're excited," Marlins vice president and assistant general manager Mike Berger said. "It's well-deserved. From the moment the amateur department identified him as a 15-year-old, you could see his power. And he's not just an offensive player, as we've come to find out. He's adept on the basepaths. He has a chance to be a solid to above-average defender."

A left-handed-hitting power threat, Naylor is batting .257/.316/.441 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs in 63 games for the Grasshoppers.

"We're seeing the power to the pull side and we're seeing the power to the off-gap, too," Berger said. "And there's a lot of doubles in there, too."

The Marlins selected Naylor 12th overall in 2015. In his first season, he appeared in 25 games for the Gulf Coast Marlins, hitting .327 with one home run and 16 RBIs in 25 games.

At 6-foot, 225 pounds, Naylor is a home run threat who is tracking toward finishing the season at Class A Advanced Jupiter.

Earlier this season, Naylor served a suspension after he was involved in a prank, which ended up injuring the thumb of outfielder Stone Garrett, one of his Greensboro teammates.

In his past 10 games, Naylor is batting .250 with one home run and seven RBIs.

"It has been as advertised up to this point," Berger said. "He's everything we thought we were getting leading up to that Draft selection. It has paid dividends up to this point."